Psalm One Hundred and Forty Seven

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

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Psalm 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

Psalm 147:2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

build up Jerusalem. Redeemed Israel will offer national praises to Christ, as He fulfills the ancient promises to the nation (Romans 11:26; Zechariah 12:8-10; 13:1; and 14:9).

Psalm 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

Psalm 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

number of the stars. Astronomers today estimate there are at least ten trillion stars. To call them all by name, God would have to be omnipresent, naming them simultaneously.

Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

great power. God is omnipotent as well as omnipresent.

infinite. Furthermore, He is omniscient!

Psalm 147:6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

down to the ground. In the context, it is possible that this is an implicit reference to the great Flood, as following chronologically the Creation (Psalm 147:4).

Psalm 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Psalm 147:8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

rain for the earth. There was no rain on the earth before the Flood (Genesis 2:5), so a new hydrologic cycle was instituted by God for these post-Flood years. See notes on Psalm 104:10-24.

Psalm 147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

Psalm 147:10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

Psalm 147:11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Psalm 147:12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.

Psalm 147:13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.

Psalm 147:14 He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

Psalm 147:15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.

commandment. This is not the usual word for “commandment;” rather, it is imrah, usually rendered “word” (see on Psalm 119:11), or a particular word.

word. Hebrew dabar, commonly meaning the life-giving word of God in general (Psalm 119:9).

Psalm 147:16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.

Psalm 147:17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

casteth forth his ice. Possibly a reference to the Ice Age following the Flood (perhaps implied in Psalm 147:16). Intense cold such as this would hardly have been known in Israel at any later date.

Psalm 147:18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

sendeth out his word. The same divine word which controls nature (note also Psalm 148:8) speaks to His people (Psalm 147:19).

Psalm 147:19 He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.

Psalm 147:20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.